Tagged: Gerard Way

At last, it’s time for my final article for the Daily Planet. Instead of reviews, I’m going to recommend 4 series to you (plus Hawkeye, because we all know that’s coming) that are some of my favorite comics. There’s a few “well duh” choices on the list, but hopefully someone will find a new favorite on this list, or at least think I have excellent tastes in comics.

1) Batgirl: Year One (Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, Marcos Martin) The only way you can buy Batgirl: Year One these days is in a trade packaged with the also great Robin: Year One. But Batgirl: Year One is arguably my favorite story featuring my favorite DC character. It’s a nice re-imagining of her origin from pre New 52 times, from a writer who wrote a good portion of the best Babs Gordon stories in the 90s. Marcos Martin later blew up on books like Spider-Man and Dr. Strange: The Oath, but this is where the Martin hype train officially began. A gorgeous story that does wonders for one of the most iconic superheroes out there, Batgirl: Year One is the one DC story I can’t recommend enough.

2) Phonogram: The Singles Club (Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matthew Wilson). While I absolutely adore this team’s work on The Wicked + The Divine and Young Avengers, P:TSC is my next pick, which was the first time Wilson joined Gillen and McKelvie on a creator owned joint. Set over the course of a single night, each issue in this trade tells a different story, focusing on a different character, and occasionally crossing over. My personal favorite of the various stories is the finale, a relatively silent story that focuses on Kid-With-a-Knife, one of the more simplistic but exciting characters in the series. While it’s technically the second part of the Phonogram trilogy, it’s by far the most accessible, and an excellent entry point for Gillen/McKelvie/Wilson’s indie work.

3) The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Gerard Way, Shaun Simon, Becky Cloonan). I really wanted to throw a Grant Morrisonpenned story on this list, but honestly, there’s enough best of/recommendation lists out there featuring his work on All Star Superman, JLA, Doom Patrol, etc. Instead I’ve opted for a comic featuring a character played by Morrison in the My Chemical Romance music videos this comic series is based on/a sequel to. While being familiar with said music videos/album helps. Killjoys is good enough to enjoy on it’s own, thanks to Cloonan’s gorgeous art, and Way’s sensational and kinda out there scripts. While you can make an argument that both creators have stronger work on the market, this is a favorite of mine, and it’s definitely worth your time if you’re a fan of either creators.

4) NEXTWAVE: Agents of H.A.T.E. (Warren Ellis, Stuart Immonen) Also known as my favorite comic series before Hawkguy was a thing. Warren Ellis’ funniest book to date, in which his team of super hero pirates fight an evil corporation profiting from a war they’ve created. A cult favorite that’s influenced so many books, NEXTWAVE was at one point the weirdest but also one of the best looking books Marvel had ever published thanks to Stuart Immonen’s art. Assuming you haven’t read it, you should, unless you hate nuclear puppies, flesh eating koalas and dragons that wear shorts.

Hawkguy) Hawkeye (Matt Fraction, David Aja, Annie Wu, Matt Hollingsworth, and various) And here it is, my obvious favorite that I’ve never shut up while writing for Forbidden Planet NYC. Hawkeye was a game changer for Marvel, and is easily the best for-hire work Fraction and Aja have done, possibly ever. The creative team makes walking dumpster fire Clint Barton one of the most relatable characters in comics, while making Hawkeye Kate Bishop a break out star. From the Pizza Dog issue to the Sandy relief issue, there’s some many amazing, genre defining comics that show that you can do big 2 comics with an indie comics sensibility. No comic series has affected as much as this book has, and there’s never going to be a time where I won’t recommend it.

And with that, I take my leave. I’d like to thank everyone who’s read my work, my fellow contributors, and the fine folk at Forbidden Planet for giving me a stage over these last years to talk about comics, and toys. I’ve had a blast, and if you care to see what I’m doing post Forbidden Planet, give me a follow on twitter (@theanarchris). Thanks for the memories FPNYC faithful!

Yo apparently this blog begins and end with me if the lack of updates indicate anything.

So Heroescon obviously has passed once again, and according to this article’s title, I was there. Yes that’s me dressed as Clint Barton with Hawkeye writer Matt Fraction. (No, you cannot touch me now.) My first Heroescon was dope, and SURPRISE, so was this year’s. I got to meet a ton of awesome creators, who’s stuff I’ll be highlighting in this article. Again see the title of this article, this is not a concept that is hard to understand people.

First off is Fraction’s first Fantastic Four collection, which collects the first 3 issues of both the NOW relaunched Fantastic Four and Future Foundation titles, with great art from Mark Bagley and Mike Allred. It’s worth noting that the books are reprinted in the order the series is meant to be read, which makes the narrative flow better in my opinion. ALSO ART BY MARK BAGLEY AND MIKE ALLRED, I CANNOT STRESS HOW AWESOME THIS IS! The 1st trade costs $17 and is well worth it. Yes this is my extremely bias opinion, given how much I love Fraction’s work, but yo, have I’ve ever steered you the reader wrong before?

What, no, you shut you, you are clearly wrong here.

Awesome artist Becky Cloonan was also in attendance an-ah screw it, LOOK ALIVE SUNSHINE! THE TRUE LIVES OF THE FABULOUS KILLJOYS HAS ARRIVED!

I’ll play this straight. Dark Horse has assembled a team that I love. I really dig writer’s Gerard Way’s “Umbrella Academy” stuffs, and yeah, I won’t front, I like My Chemical Romance. As for Becky, she drew the very awesome Demo with Brian Wood, another favorite of mine, so these 2 on a book that ties into my favorite MCR album is a must buy. The book’s debut issue is firing on all cylinders, and you definitely get your $4 worth it. Pick it up on sight.

Chris Sims, of ComicsAlliance.com fame, was a guest in the massive Indie creator section of the con, and I’m a fan of his work I’m also a fan of Street Fighter, and the publisher Udon, which is a really roundabout way of saying that I bought Super Street Fighter Volume 1: The New Generation. This dropped last October apparently, and while I liked it, I’m a little hesitant to recommend it to everyone. As enjoyable as the side stories by Sims and friends are (I don’t want to know you if you can’t get down with a Balrog Vs. Dudley fight), the main story is strictly for fans only. Also the page count is a little weird due to the fact that there’s a lot of sketches/promo art packaged in. It retails for $35, which is kinda steep, but it’s also a over-sized hardcover, so the price is kinda justified if you’re into Street Fighter.

Kelly Sue Deconnick’s Captain Marvel is a book that I’ve been on board with since she wrote 2 issues of Avenging Spider-Man with Carol Danvers in them last year. So while I didn’t actually buy anything from her at Heroescon ( I did do a nice little write up of her Carol Corps panel over at Bleeding Cool http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/12/kelly-sue/), that will not stop me from pushing the 2 Captain Marvel trades currently available. Kelly Sue’s joined by relatively new artists like Dexter Soy and Filipe Andrade, both excellent story tellers in their own rights, as well as the great Emma Rios, who is currently working with KSD on Image’s upcoming “Pretty Deadly”. It’s good super hero stuffs with an easy jumping on point, and for $15 bucks a volume, you really can’t go wrong with this series.

That concludes my brief con report/creators I like plugathon. Next time I’ll be back plugging a dozen or so Play Arts.

Umbrella Academy vol 02: Dallas TP– A fractured team gets thrust into new adventure involving a plot to kill JFK. An FP bestseller, The Umbrella Academy maintains the vibrant cool of volume one with Dallas well. Written by Gerard Way (lead singer of My Chemical Romance and a former guest of FP and an overall swell fella) with glorious art by Gabriel Ba (Casanova), who never disappoints.

Prison Pit– Yaaaaaaaaaay! New Johnny Ryan comics! This time we’re served an original graphic novel from the Angry Youth Comix maestro, a hyper violent and darkly comical tale of intergalactic bloodbath as protagonist CF is thrust into the Prison Pit. Powered by Johnny’s brilliant sense of humor (more heaping handfuls of gross blech than you can imagine, more offensive imagery than socially acceptable), this book is billed as a mishmash of influences- WWE, video games, Gary Panter’s Jimbo, and the Berserk manga. I like to think of it as R. Crumb draws Tim Vigil’s Faust, minus the draftsmanship. Recommended.

Buffy Season 8 Volume 5– So I guess I’ll be seeing legions upon legions of Buffy fans this week in Forbidden Planet. Okay then. See ya then.

25,000 Years of Erotic Freedom– Alan Moore, he of Lost Girls fame, contributes to this book examining centuries of smut, pornography, and filth. Terrific. While definitely not for all tastes, nor ages for that matter, the book posits that “the success and vibrancy of a society relates to its permissiveness in sexual matters,”and examines human history in that context. Says Moore, “Sexually progressive cultures gave us literature, philosophy, civilization and the rest, while sexually restrictive cultures gave us the Dark Ages and the Holocaust.” It’s a pretty interesting tome, Especially if you like da nasty.

John McClane sketch from artist Stephen Thompson’s blog.

Die Hard #1– What? Come on, okay? Die Hard’s my favorite Christmas movie and even I, on occasion, should be allowed to let go of snobbery and pretension long enough to enjoy big dumb fun. Which brings us to this here comic book, chronicling John McClane’s rookie tour with the NYPD in 1976. Written by Howard Chaykin, a veteran of tough, grizzled action/crime stories, with art by Stephen Thopmson (Moonstone’s Buckaroo Banzai, Presidential Material: John McCain).

Sleeper Season Two TP– Stop reading if you’ve heard my spiel about Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ masterpiece. Okay, now that they’re gone, you simply MUST read Sleeper. It contains zero moral value, and that’s fantastic. Secret agent Holden Carver is under deep, deep cover in THE underground criminal organization what’s got their hands in everything with seemingly no way out. Why would he want to get out anyway, when evil’s so damn sexy? It’s an amazingly well-executed story and if you have enjoyed these creators’ other series Criminal and Incognito you’ll more than dig this.

Absolute Promethea Vol. 01– One of our favorite Alan Moore books gets the gussied-up Absolute treatment from DC/Wildstorm. There are precious few other things you can drop a hundred bucks on. Anyone got a hundred bucks I can borrow?

Bad Dog #3– You may want to wait for the trade on this title due to its erratic schedule, but if you’re stalwart enough to jump on board or you’ve been following it all along you’ll know that Joe Kelly’s romp is one irreverent delight after another. Best comic featuring a Werewolf bounty hunter ever.

And that’s just the tip of the bookshelf. Have a good Wednesday, folks.